Green Holiday Gift Shopping Ideas

Go Green in 2014: Week 47

The holidays are coming up quickly, and you may be wondering how you can go green with your gift giving....

Although I've hardly begun my shopping, I have been trying to come up with some ideas to lessen my environmental impact once I get started. Following are a few things I have done in the past, as well as some new ideas for this year's holiday gifts.

1. Support local shops. Shopping locally is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint because it helps conserve resources, such as those related to transportation. Plus, you will be helping to support the local economy.

2. Make your own holiday gifts. "Doing it yourself" is not only a great way to conserve resources, but it's usually pretty inexpensive and much more personal. In my experience, people tend to appreciate handmade gifts much more than generic, store-bought items.

3. Shop for gifts made with recycled materials. There are all kinds of neat gift items that are made with recycled materials, such as flip flop doormats, recycled metal jewelry and wall art, reclaimed wood furniture, and so on. You could even combine ideas 1 and 2, and make your own recycled material holiday gifts.

4. Give away seed packets. Seed packets are a great way to help someone become more eco-friendly, whether they are for flowers, veggies, or herbs. If you want to take it a step further, you could give potted herbs, perhaps to someone who enjoys cooking.

5. Buy gift cards to local stores. Gift cards are great because they are small, and the recipients can then buy whatever they like. This greatly reduces waste (have you ever received something that ended up collecting dust for several years before you finally gave it away or sold it in a garage sale?).

6. Give reusable cloth napkins or "unpaper" towels. Someone who goes through a lot of paper towels, such as someone with kids or pets, might appreciate the monetary savings associated with reusable napkins. Learn more here. Cloth sandwich and snack baggies are also a great idea.

7. Shop for non-toxic toys for kids. Wooden toys may be safer than plastic ones, because plastic often contains toxic chemicals - however, if the wood is painted, do your research to be sure it is non-toxic. Learn about three chemicals that could be in your child's toys.

8. Purchase dryer balls or soap nuts as gifts. Instead of dryer sheets or fabric softener, I use wool dryer balls to soften my laundry. Soap nuts, which come from the soapberry tree, are also a great gift idea for someone who might be interested in switching to a more green detergent alternative.

9. Make sure gifts are practical or useful. If you're not sure someone will use your gift, maybe you should reconsider it. Items that go unused are wasteful, so if you really don't know someone very well, consider simply asking what they want or need.

10. "Wrap" gifts in reusable bags. You will likely want to wrap your gift, whether it's green or...not so much. Reusable cloth bags are useful because they have so many purposes: grocery shopping, traveling, or just storing certain items (I like keep my yarn in a reusable bag for easy transportation).

What are some ways you have gone green with holiday gift giving? How do you plan to do so this year?

Photo courtesy of Flickr / FutUndBeidl

~ ~ ~

Disclosure: This post may contain some affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Your challenge: This week, if you haven't already, start your holiday gift list with as many green and environmentally-friendly items as you can come up with.

______________________________________________________

**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**

Ideas to Make Your Own Natural Food Coloring

Go Green in 2014: Week 46

We don't really use food coloring in our house, but it can be helpful when it comes to adding a touch of color to your food; cupcake frosting and colored eggs are a couple examples. However, many store-bought food dyes have been linked to various health issues (source). Wouldn't you rather know what is in your food coloring? You certainly will if you make your own!

Here are some ideas for natural, homemade food coloring.

Red

For red or pink food coloring, you can use a number of different red colored foods, but if you're looking for a flavorless dye, beets are your best bet. You can either use juice from canned beets or you can juice the raw vegetable. Raspberries and pomegranates are a couple other ideas, both of which will add a little flavor to your food.

Orange

Some people use orange juice to make natural food coloring, but they don't have much color. Try carrots instead for a nice orange hue. And don't worry about the flavor if you are coloring frosting; carrots are naturally sweet.

Yellow

Use turmeric powder or saffron flowers to make yellow food coloring. The yellow is pretty intense, so start small and add a little at a time. You may also want to taste test each time you add these spices since the flavor could potentially overpower a sweet food.

Green

Spinach will impart a pretty green hue to a natural food coloring. You could either juice them or use a food processor to get your green dye. And as with carrots, spinach will not affect the taste.

Blue (and purple)

To make blue and purple food coloring, try some cabbage. For purple, boil the cabbage until the water is a dark purple, and use this water as a natural dye. To make blue food coloring, slowly stir in a little bit of baking soda at a time until you have the desired hue. The baking soda and cabbage water will react, creating a nice blue.

Have you made natural food coloring before? What did you use to make it? How did it turn out?

Photo courtesy of Flickr / Clever Cupcakes

~ ~ ~

Your challenge: This week, consider making your own non-toxic food coloring rather than using store-bought dyes.

______________________________________________________

**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**

Switching to Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Go Green in 2014: Week 45

My husband and I bought new light fixtures for our dining room and living room last weekend, so we have been working on installing them. It's exciting! Our old fixtures were, well, old. I'll admit, there have been a few setbacks, but in the end, I love having updated lighting.

Now, the light fixtures themselves aren't necessarily "green" or "not green". It's the type of light bulbs you use that really matters.

Why switch to energy efficient light bulbs
 
An energy efficient bulb might cost you a little more upfront, but they will save you money and electricity in the long run. Besides, the incandescent bulb is becoming more obsolete, thanks to a 2007 U.S. law (Energy Independence and Security Act) that was set into effect to phase them out. Since we moved into our house, we have been slowly switching to energy efficient bulbs as the old ones burn out.

Now that we have covered the reasons to switch out your lighting, let's take a look at the different options we have.

Types of energy efficient light bulbs

You probably envision those curly-cue light bulbs when you think of energy efficiency, but they aren't the only option.

1. CFL. Compact fluorescent lights (the curly bulbs you might be picturing) are pretty inexpensive and come in a variety of sizes to fit various fixtures; they also come in warm and natural hues, so you aren't stuck with that cold, bluish tinge in your living room. They do contain a small amount of mercury, which isn't a problem when handled correctly.
2. LED. Light emitting diodes are durable and have a long life span; you could get up to 11 years on continuous (24 hours per day) operation from them. They do tend to have a lower, more direct output, though, so they may be better for certain applications than others.
3. Halogen. Most people don't think of halogen when they think of energy efficiency, but they use less energy than an incandescent bulb and they are great for specific applications. Halogen lighting is a favorite in art galleries or in a reading area where it reduces eye strain. Like incandescent bulbs, however, halogen generates heat, which could potentially cause damage in the surrounding area.

What type of lighting do you have in your home?

~ ~ ~

Your challenge: This week, consider moving to energy efficient light bulbs as the old ones need to be replaced.

______________________________________________________

**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**

How to Safely Off-Gas New Furniture

Go Green in 2014: Week 44

Did you know that particle board and plywood furniture is a source of off-gassing? First of all, what in the world is off-gassing?

Off-gassing is the release of chemicals from items, such as new furniture, that we bring into our home (I'll list a few more offenders in just a bit). Formaldehyde is part of the glue that binds particle board together, and its gases are released into the air for a period of time. This can be unhealthy when new particleboard or plywood furniture is brought into a small, closed-off room.

What are some ways we can avoid inhaling these toxic fumes?

How to safely off-gas new furniture

Besides buying solid wood furniture rather than particle board, here are a few ideas to avoid the buildup of harmful chemicals in your home.

• Buy gently used furniture that has already had time to off-gas.
• Weather permitting, leave the furniture outside for a few days (or at least a day) to off-gas.
• Leave the furniture in an unused room for a few days and open the window, at least as long as the weather permits.
• If you must bring it inside, open up windows for as long as you're able, as a way to circulate air.

What are some ways you have safely off-gassed new furniture?

More surprising sources of off-gassing

Furniture is not the only source of chemical off-gassing, though. Here are a few others to look out for.

• Dryer sheets
• Air fresheners
• Commercial cleaning products
• Nail polish remover
• Electronics
• Non-stick pans
• Laser printers/photocopiers

The best way to avoid breathing in unhealthy fumes is to avoid these products where you can. For example, switch out dryer sheets for wool dryer balls and store-bought air fresheners for homemade alternatives. Make your own cleaning products. Use cast iron or stainless steel pans.

What are some ways you avoid chemical off-gassing in your everyday life?

Photo courtesy of Flickr / bfi

~ ~ ~

Your challenge: This week, consider the ways you can avoid off-gassing, whether from new furniture or other sources.

______________________________________________________

**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**